Sunday, June 7, 2015

INXS – "Devil Inside" (1987)

(Which look is that? In my experience, most women have about ten different looks. One or two are good. The rest mean trouble.)

I wrote recently about the explosion in the number of microbreweries in the United States. Sometimes it seems like there's a microbrewery on every street corner.

Except on Cape Cod, that is.

You would think a popular vacation spot like Cape Cod would be awash in microbreweries. But until recently, there was only one -- Cape Cod Beer in Hyannis.

This Memorial Day weekend, a second microbrewery opened on Cape Cod. Devil's Purse Brewing -- which is located just off the Cape Cod Rail Trail in South Dennis -- takes its name from the casings that contain the fertilized eggs of skates (oviparous rays) and certain types of sharks.

A devil's purse

I made plans to visit Devil's Purse along with one of my daughters and her husband the first day it opened. When we arrived, we learned that we could purchase small samples of their beers. We could also purchase "growlers" (half-gallon jugs of beer) and "crowlers" (32-ounce cans that are filled and sealed on the spot) to take home.

But we weren't allowed to buy a pint to drink on the premises . . . which is really the point of visiting a microbrewery.

When I asked what the deal was, I got two different answers. One person told me that Massachusetts law didn't allow Devil's Purse to serve pints to their customers for consumption on the premises.

A growler and a crowler

Another person told me it had to do with their sewer/septic tank hookup -- that they would need to upgrade their sewer/septic system before they could have bathrooms for customers.

Whatever the reason is, it sounds to me like it's the damn government's fault. When something is FUBAR, I always say "Cherchez l'etat!" And I'm usually right.

The Australian group INXS ("in excess") was hugely popular in the eighties and nineties. But in 1997, lead singer Michael Hutchence was found dead in his room in the Sydney Ritz-Carlton hotel. The coroner ruled that Hutchence had committed suicide while depressed and under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

"Devil Inside" was released in 1987 on the band's best-selling studio album, Kick. The song made it to #2 on the billboard "Hot 100."

By coincidence -- assuming that there is such a thing as coincidence -- "Devil Inside" popped up on channel 33 on the SiriusXM Radio in my rental car while I was driving to the Devil's Purse brewery.

(Channel 33 on SiriusXM is the "1st Wave" channel, and features classic alternative songs from the eighties.)